Improvement in game-boards



U ITED STATEs PATEN Qrrron.

JAMES C. ARMS, or NORTHAMPTON, MASsAonUsnTTS.

IMPRGVEMENTINGAME-BOARDS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 136,200, dated February 25, 1873.

To all whomit may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES C. ARMS, of Northampton, in the county of Hampshire and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Backgammon and Checker Boards, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing.

My invention relates to an improved manner of constructing the box-like folding boards in common use, whereby I am enabled to produce, a cheaper, stronger, and more durable article than by the usual method of construction; and. it consists in making the outside frame of wood with inside grooves, and then inserting the sides or faces into said grooves, as hereinafter more fully described.

In the manufacture of folding backgammonboards of the style represented in the drawing, it has heretofore been the universal practi'ce to make the two parts or trays of wood, like rough boxes, and to then cover them by hand with leather. To the boards thus constructed there are serious objections, prominent among which are their excessive cost, owing to the amount of hand-labor required on them; the liability of the sides or faces warping and tearing themselves loose; thefrequency with which the leather corners and edges wear through; and the liability of the fiat outside faces to be soiled and injured when the board is rested upon a table or other support. The object of my invention is to produce a board which shall be free from all these objections.

Figure l is a perspective view of my improved board; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section through the same near one side; Fig. 3, a

cross-section, showing the construction of the hinge.

A A represent the two halves or trays, made of the ordinary form and hinged together, as usual. Each tray consists of an outside wooden frame, a, provided on three of its inner sides with a groove, 12, into which groove, the edges of the side or face a are inserted, asshown. The inside bar of the frame, to which the hinges are attached, is not grooved, but is made narrower than the others, so that the. side or face 0 can extend under it and'out flush with the outside of the frame, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. This arrangement is necessary in order to have the outside faces of the two trays meet, as in Fig.

3, to form a smooth unbroken Surface for the customary chess or checker board. The inner bar being narrower than the others also permits the face or side to be inserted after the frame is completed, so that in making the frame it may be handled more readily and put together more quickly than if the side was inserted in the first place. In order to hold the side or face 0 in place and prevent it from sagging, its inner exposed edge is tacked,

glued, or otherwise firmly secured to the narrow bar. The side orface consists simply of a sheet of woodor pasteboard, having its two faces covered with leather and provided with the usual points and squares. The groove 1) serves not only to retain the side or face in the frame, but also to keep it perfectly flat and prevent it from warping; to hold and conceal the edges of the leather so as to prevent them from curling up, and give a finished appearance to the board; and to support the face within the frame so that it will not be soiled in case the board is laid upon an unclean sur; face.

The side being arranged within the frame, serves to stiffen and brace the same, so as to prevent the board from losing its shape or becoming loose in the joints.

The frame may, of course, be made of any species of wood, in any ornamental style, and painted, varnished, or otherwise finished, as fancy may dictate. v

As the frame can be constructed and the sides or faces prepared almost entirely by machinery, with a very small amount of handlabor, the board can be produced at a cost far below those of the usual construction.

The two halves or trays are united by hinges E, which consist simply of a leather strap, d, covered with metal plates e and secured in place by nails or screws f passing through the plates and leather into the wood as shown in Fig. 3.

By my improved manner of constructing the bodyI am enabled to produce a backgammonboard which is cheaper, stronger, and more serviceable than any yet introduced.

Having described myinvention, whatIclaim 1s-- The folding game-board having its frames provided with grooves b into which the faces 0 are inserted, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

Witnesses: JAMES C. ARMS.

Enos PARsoNs, W. P. ABERNETHY. 

